The new Lake Champlain bridge span being lifted into place (Photo: Brian Mann)

This weekend marks the official grand opening of the Lake Champlain bridge from Crown Point to Addison, Vermont. Nearly three years after the old bridge was condemned and closed to traffic, the new span will see two days of dances, parades, music, and a flotilla on lake.

The key-note speaker at the gathering will be Ted Zoli, the designer of the new bridge, who grew up in Glens Falls. The bash will end Sunday night with a fireworks show.

The bridge will be closed for about an hour around 11 am on Saturday for one part of the celebration, which will mean traffic delays in the area.

According to the Addison County Independent newspaper, as many as 10,000 people are expected to attend the two-day festival. I’ll be there and will have more on this story Monday morning.